HDDC signs off on revised sidewalk plans

Wednesday

Feb 13, 2013 at 9:43 AMFeb 13, 2013 at 9:46 AM

The new and improved plans for Hannibal’s North Main Street sidewalks cleared a hurdle late Monday afternoon when the Historic Development District Commission (HDDC) voted unanimously in support of the revised design.

DANNY HENLEYdanny.henley@courierpost.com

The new and improved plans for Hannibal’s North Main Street sidewalks cleared a hurdle late Monday afternoon when the Historic Development District Commission (HDDC) voted unanimously in support of the revised design.

“It’s better than what it originally was,” said Mike Kettelkamp, president of the HDDC, regarding the re-drafted plans.

A letter indicating the HDDC’s approval will now be sent to the Missouri Department of Transportation, which is paying for a significant portion of the project, and the State Historic Preservation Office.

Members of the HDDC asked Martin Meyer of Architechics, which is doing design work on the project, an assortment of questions before its vote, ranging from where storm water would drain to a re-confirmation that there will be no two-tiered sidewalk or railings extending along the sidewalk on North Main.

Mark Rees, city engineer, noted that the raised intersections will work as a traffic-calming device along the street.

Councilman Mike Dobson, a spectator at Monday’s meeting, noted that the city has worked hard with North Main merchants to come up with a project that everyone can be proud of.

“We only have one chance to get it right,” he said.

After MoDOT signs off on the revisions OK’d by the HDDC, a public meeting will be scheduled featuring the revised plans. Rees said Tuesday he does not anticipate any snags when MoDOT does its review.

“It should be an easy process,” he said, noting that no additional state funds will be required.

The city is still waiting for MECO Engineering to wrap up its revisions.

“We’re not getting them (new plans) as soon as I’d thought, but the weather is not such that we could be doing any work,” said Rees, who has a project meeting scheduled later this week with representatives of MECO.

Rees recently told the Courier-Post he did not want to estimate when construction work might resume. Unlike some, Rees is not optimistic that all the work will be completed by National Tom Sawyer Days in early July. If it isn’t, Rees says work on the project will be suspended during that time.